By the way, avoid using "In my humble opinion", which sounds ultra-formal, but apparently is taken by most as sarcasm and to mean exactly the opposite.
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Canis LupusJan 8 '14 at 22:49

19

Note that “way much more” is ungrammatical. It should just be “way more”. Also note, though, that this sounds quite colloquial and informal. I would suggest using far instead of way.
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Janus Bahs JacquetJan 8 '14 at 23:08

Try not to refer to code as "my code", even if you wrote it all. A minor difference in wording (e.g. "the changes I'm proposing" or even just "the code I wrote") will likely make you appear more open to criticism.
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MelsJan 9 '14 at 10:56

36

as a complete aside, as a general rule, I ignore evertything up to and including the but. If you don't want to sound too cocky, make sure you're not sounding too cocky rather than simply saying that you don't want to do it.
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MartijnJan 9 '14 at 12:31

Thank you but I would like to know a formal way of saying that. I could dodge the bullet in this case with what you suggest (and it actually is very intelligent in this particular case), however, I would like to learn the correct phrase instead of changing my sentence every time.
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PouyaJan 8 '14 at 22:26

26

+1. ‘Presumptuous’ is exactly the word that immediately popped into my mind upon reading the question. Also, if you wish to sound extra formal, you could say, “I don’t mean/wish to sound presumptuous …”.
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Janus Bahs JacquetJan 8 '14 at 23:06

3

@JanusBahsJacquet Or 'If you will excuse me for briefly blowing my own trumpet...'
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WS2Jan 9 '14 at 9:24

nice post, but to say you were supprised is both understating your own expertise and seemingly the improvement being a fluke, both a no no in my book :D .. the classic i don't want to <blah blah> but <i will now do exactly what i just said I didn't want to do> :D
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Paul ZahraJan 10 '14 at 12:21

While we often think that our idea/viewpoint/product is far superior to others we encounter, the needs of the creator or other users may be divergent from our own, or what we think theirs are. We may view precision as the primary criterion, while they think ease of use is paramount. And they may be the deciders.

One approach to acknowledge that another viewpoint may be more controlling is

I may be wrong [mistaken/off-base/not fully aware of all the issues], but it seems that my approach may get us closer to a solution.

Even if you are dead certain that their method sucks compared to your elegant solution, you have a better shot at being heard if you suggest that you may not be correct.

Well, I see your point and I agree. However the question here is to find a replacement for that phrase. Please note that this not an attack, but the first part of your answer, being completely valid, I think it's not actually an answer to my question. +1 nonetheless because I really like the second part of your answer suggesting "I may be wrong". Thank you :)
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PouyaJan 9 '14 at 10:09

1

@Pouya: I think answering 'the question behind the question' ('Can you think of a non-abrasive way to address my Prof about this issue, but in a formal register?') is morally acceptable. bib's fan club seem to agree.
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Edwin AshworthJan 9 '14 at 12:38

5

@Pouya Part of the issue is the second half of the sentence sounds cocky no matter what you do with the first phrase. Consequently, just softening the intro words comes across as disingenuous. The listener might think the tentativeness in my version is also not sincere, but it tries to get the tone of the whole sentence in alignment.
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bibJan 9 '14 at 12:58

1

I believe this is the key: do you throw in a phrase indicating you're trying to be humble (as the original question requests) or do you make your statement humbly and allow the listener to confirm it. "I've checked my results three times because my solution is an order of magnitude faster than the current solution, and it appears that I may have found a considerably more efficient algorithm." You could be wrong and you admit that, rather than being absolutely certain (and clearly of the opinion that the previous solution stinks).
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WayneJan 10 '14 at 12:42

"Testing with the Arcane Blivit dataset indicates that this implementation improves performance of the Deeble function by 20%, which improves our overall performance on that dataset by 3%. I'd be glad to repeat the experiment with other datasets to make sure this isn't an atypical result." Or explain why the new version is easier to maintain, or handles necessary cases that weren't previously addressed, or whatever else its advantage is. If you can't explain in a few sentences why yours is better, you don't understand it well enough to make the assertion in the first place.

Then, if you're told no, politely try to understand why the answer is no. Don't argue -- listen more than you speak.

In other words: If you don't want to come across as arrogant, don't be arrogant.

+1 "If you don't want to come across as arrogant, don't be arrogant". OP should just say what they have to say, and not editorialize it.
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THEAOJan 9 '14 at 8:57

6

You've redefined OP's question for him. It's what I'd usually do too – your suggestion makes eminent sense. However, some pedants usually start complaining at this point. (I'm just complaining about the pedants.)
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Edwin AshworthJan 9 '14 at 9:02

1

Granted. There's a tension between answering the question as asked, and answering the question behind the question. Downvoting the question wasn't quite the right response, but since this seemed to be a "how can I" rather than pure language use...
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keshlamJan 9 '14 at 14:02

1

I agree with this answer the most. Saying "I think this is more efficient" might be conceived as cocky. Saying "Look, here are some metrics, is there anything I missed?"
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Ev01Jan 9 '14 at 22:57

Remove "way". It is grammatically incorrect to say "my code is way much more". Or change it to "my code is way more".
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Ellie KesselmanJan 9 '14 at 12:10

4

Just remove "way much" all together, if you're trying not to sound cocky, then avoid comparatives and don't use superlatives
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Elias Van OotegemJan 9 '14 at 12:29

@FeralOink I agree, but the OP wanted to learn how to say just "I don't want to sound too cocky" more formal without the distraction of other advice, so that's what I focused on.
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called2voyageJan 9 '14 at 14:24

Okay! I can remove my down vote, now that you made a revision.
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Ellie KesselmanJan 9 '14 at 14:27

This is a good answer! "With all due respect" is a good way to preface it. It isn't "typically Indian", @AmitRanjan Rather, it is good English usage, anywhere. But it is better to change the verb to something more active than "I would like to say"; "With all due respect, my code is..." might be better.
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Ellie KesselmanJan 9 '14 at 12:28

14

I would say this was 'British Style' in that you really mean: "with no respect at all" :-)
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Smalltown2kJan 9 '14 at 16:53

@Smalltown2k Same usage here in the US
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called2voyageApr 9 '14 at 16:48

Given the context (discussing your code with your professor) you could opt to support your assertions, and just start your sentence with "I'm sorry but..." and top it off with "that's what my tests showed anyway".

Something along the lines of:

I'm sorry, but I've tested both versions. Mine outperformed what we had so far by n%. Of course, if you see anything wrong with my method of testing, I'm open to suggestions.

This phrasing still boils down to your saying: My code is, I think, more performant (which, incidentally, is perfectly fine: not too informal and not cocky at all), and shifts the topic of the discussion to how to better test performance. The latter is a classic debating trick: by changing the subject, if the opposing party then focussses on the new topic, too, will make it seem as though your initial statement (of your code being the better approach) is agreed upon.

Note:
I am a developer, and I've had these which code is best discussions more than I care to mention. I found that shifting the topic to how code is tested avoids those rage-filled-foam-at-the-mouth shouting matches quite well. If my code comes under scrutiny, I don't take offence, even if I felt my code was the better option. I was always able and prepared to defend my work, by suggesting using stuff like unexpected input, sudden loss of network connection, stack overflow and the chances of infinite recursion or data corruption.
Since you're talking to a professor, I take it you're still learning to code: TMTOWTDI (There's More Than One Way To Do It) is something to keep in mind. Give the same challenge to 10 programmers, and you'll see anywhere from 5 to 10 different approaches come back. The best code doesn't exist. It's always the best code in this case, so discussing various approaches is as much a part of programming as testing, flowcharts, debugging, refactoring and writing the actual code.

It's often said that programmers only spend 20% of their time actually programming. So if you don't feel confident challenging existing code, I'd suggest, without wanting to be arrogant or patronizing, you go ahead and dace that "fear" head on. Challenge the code. The worst that can happen is you get an edgy response, briefly pointing out one or two things you've overlooked. That's not bad: that's how you learn.
The best that can happen is that your professor says: "Well, you know what: You're right, I didn't see that", which is a nice thing to hear.

What I'm saying is: Sod the fear of sounding cocky, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

One minor amendment to your statement: "Give the same challenge to n programmers and you'll see at least n+1 different approaches come back." Definitely agree with your analysis.
–
Okuma.TonyJan 9 '14 at 16:18

1

@Okuma.Tony: I was tempted to say you'd get anywhere from n/2 to 2^n different approaches, depending on experience, language choice, motivation etc... I'd be hard pressed to find 10 different ways to compute the faculty of an int in Java, but I'd probably be able to give you 20+ ways in scheme :) but this is a language site, not a programmers site, so I left it as is
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Elias Van OotegemJan 9 '14 at 16:27

I have to agree, but remember, any claim, no matter how correctly phrased, needs proof to back it up... I would probably use "I have run some tests against my version of the software and to the original, and have found my code performs with a greater efficiency of xyz%. Could I get your thoughts?" also invites them to listen, and to put in their opinion after taking a look for themselves.
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Eliseo d'AnnunzioJan 10 '14 at 0:59

@Eliseod'Annunzio: Exactly, that's why I block-quoted a suggestion that does just that: explains you tested both, found a solution that, in the test cases performed better, but immediately asks for a review of the method of testing. I then proceeded to explain that discussing the method of testing also implies discussing how well both versions handle unexpected scenario's and that this, too, are important considerations to take into account
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Elias Van OotegemJan 10 '14 at 7:26

First of all, I suggest avoiding the phrase "I don't want to sound x, but..." or any variation thereof, because in conveys that you are x, and (even worse) aware of it. Therefore you did the right thing by swallowing down your comment, it would not have helped you since it has the tendency to steer the discussion away from a rational argument.

So you need to convey that you might be wrong, but you are convinced that your solution is superior and offer a rational way to settle the matter. Something like:

"I believe my code is a more efficient solution than the existing approach. If you allow me, I will present some benchmarks to prove it."

This works due to the fact that you're willing to put yourself on the line, with your own proofs. If you're going to say that x is better than y you would back up your claim. The professor who will want to see your proof against the benchmarks of the original will be more receptive to your invitation.
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Eliseo d'AnnunzioJan 10 '14 at 0:55

I wouldn't say that. It is a bit like 'in my humble opinion'. See above.
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WS2Jan 8 '14 at 23:27

10

Yeah, drawing attention to the depth of your own modesty is generally a sign you're being immodest.
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user867Jan 9 '14 at 1:52

2

It's 'in all modesty' that's the idiom I'm quoting. As a pragmatic marker (subset ameliorator / hedge) it slots into the appropriate place in the matrix sentence. 'Can I suggest [that]. . .?' is another hedging device. 'My code is [ ] much more efficient than what we have right now' is the matrix sentence (here-in-need-of-a-hedge-or-two).
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Edwin AshworthJan 9 '14 at 12:32

Look up hedge (linguistics). Pragmatic markers are included alongside the sentence conveying the principal content to perform a variety of functions, from grabbing the listener's attention to preventing him thumping you; from helping him follow your argument to giving an estimate of the reliability of the information you're relaying. Hedges / mitigators have an ameliorating role.
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Edwin AshworthJan 9 '14 at 22:25

In business contexts I have found this to be by far the best approach to tell someone about an improvement without hurting their feelings. I think psychologically it's different, because they are telling themselves, rather than you telling them.

I don't want to sound too cocky, but my code is way much more
efficient than what we have right now.

This does sound arrogant, and begging to be belittled and dismissed. If a student of mine addressed me in this fashion, I would bite my tongue and listen to his/her code but it had better be damn good for me to take the solution seriously.

There's nothing wrong in being polite and deferential, it's also a sign of intelligence and humility. In your case I would say to the professor:

I'm not being boastful when I claim that my code, judging by
its performance and its test results, is extremely efficient. However, I'd really appreciate hearing your input/considerations/criticisms on the matter.

If you're proud of your accomplishment, you can be open about it and invite the professor to share in your joy:

I am proud to report that my code runs much faster than the current version. Would you like to take a look?

Whether this is appropriate depends on the circumstances, of course. If the professor is teaching you how to write faster code, then naturally the professor will be glad to hear your news. If you and others are working on the software together, then adding an improvement to the software will be welcomed by all. On the other hand, if you are competing with the author of the current version and have no intention of collaborating, it might be best to hold silent in that conversation and celebrate your victory somewhere else.

The appropriate phrasing really depends on what you want your listener to do with the information: celebrate with you? feel ashamed and defeated? get angry? check to see if you're right? put your code into the next version? There are clear and formal ways to do all of these things.

On the other hand, saying, "I don't want to sound X, but ..." says pretty clearly that you're about to say something X. Even this can be turned to your advantage with humor, though. "I don't want to sound cocky, but my code totally left yours in the dust!" This amplifies the cockiness so much that it will likely be heard playfully.

When trying to be humble about one's opinions, I often find the words 'believe' and 'appear' to be quite helpful. I also personalize the opinion, so that if I might be found incorrect, it is no more than that… an error in my perception.

In your case, I would have approached the topic like this:

It appears to me that this method might be superior to that one.

Also, you might consider the Socratic method. That would entail asking directed questions so that the other finds themselves arriving at your solution by themselves:

What would happen if you did that this way?

Could you even remove that outer loop altogether if you did that this way?

I find that this approach lends itself well to learning on both sides. I sometimes learn that I'm not necessarily as smart as I believed myself to be and at other times, someone else may benefit from my observations.